The present invention relates to a carbonator assembly which requires no electrical components and includes a CO.sub.2 gas generator module which generates the gas by a chemical reaction.
The water carbonator, in combination with the conventional CO.sub.2 -cylinder, comprises a system, which is an essential part of those beverage dispensers which use syrup and water to produce a finished carbonated beverage. Conventional carbonator systems require complex controls firstly to ensure the correct degree of carbonation and secondly to provide a constant water pressure while dispensing. The latter is essential- for providing good control of the water-syrup dispensing ratio and a constant carbonation level while water is being drawn. Furthermore the conventional CO.sub.2 supply comprises heavy, high pressure CO.sub.2 cylinders which are necessarily returnable, refillable packages, are inconvenient to use, and require pressure controls and safety devices.
In home-dispensing, a non-pressurized or low-pressure CO.sub.2 package is important, since it simplifies distribution through normal retail channels and provides qreater convenience foi the non-professional user. In addition, a conveniently designed carbonator for home-dispensing is one which is portable, can be filled at the user's sink, and be replaced into the dispenser after filling. Home dispensers are essentially simple devices, with few controls, and in the future some may be fitted into refrigerators, eliminating the need for separate cooling. This in turn implies the need for simple mechanical controls of the carbonation process. However, both the actual carbonation and the generation of gas for dispensing purposes should occur automatically, with minimum user manipulation. Otherwise, the advantages of simplicity and cost-effectiveness are counter-balanced by the lack of essential convenience.